Platform shoe and sole therefor



April 6, 1954 A. R. RIDDERSTROM 2,674,051

PLATFORM SHOE AND sou: THEREFOR Filed Jan. 17, 1950 M M; j. t .0" VJ A 20 INVENTOR,

Patented Apr. 6, 1954 PLATFORM SHOE AND SOLE THEREFOR Andrew R. Ridderstrom, to Prime Manufacturin Nahant, Mass., assignor g Company, Lynn,

Mass.,

a. corporation of Massachusetts Application January 17, 1950, Serial No. 139,025

1* Claim. 1

This invention comprises a new and improved platform shoe and a novel platform sole or shell which is the distinguishing feature thereof. The invention also includes within its scope the shoemaking process herein disclosed.

Platform shoes as heretofore made have usually included a platform sole of solid material, of substantially uniform thickness throughout, and of the same thickness as that of the exposed edge face of the platform. Such soles have been constructed of cork composition, sponge rubber, multi-ply felt and other fibrous or cushion materials, and have therefore been a costly item for the shoe manufacturer and an objectionably heavy element in the finished shoes. However, platform shoes have taken the public fancy and are demanded by wearers in great numbers.

I have discovered a platform sole construction which at once makes available a lightweight skeleton platform at reduced cost and facilitates a wide range of variety in color, style, texture and finish of the shoe in which it is incorporated. Not only has it these advantages, but it simplifies and reduces the cost of manufacturing shoes of the platform type by reducing the number of manufacturing steps and the skill heretofore required of the operator in properly locating the platform in the bottom of the lasted shoe.

In one aspect the platform sole of myinvention comprises a sole blank having a thin upstanding self sustaining wall secured about its marginal edge and surrounding or enclosing a sole-shaped area. Preferably and as herein shown, the upstanding wall may be formed by first providing a sole blank corresponding to the bottom of a lasted upper, either full length orforepart only, then erecting a. self-sustaining wall of rectangular cross-section. about its: marginal edge. The sole blank may be of inexpensive material, for example, fibreboard approximately 3 irons thick. The preferred procedure for erecting the upstanding wall is to provide a binding strip having a. stiff but flexible ribbonlikelaminated body, or a core partially enclosed in an adhesive cover of sheet material. The core or the body of the strip is brought progressively into contact with the outer edge of the sole blank and at right angles thereto and one or both of the margins of the cover, are turnediinwardly and adhesively secured to the faces of the sole blank. 'I'he'wall thus erected may have an overall height of for example, or whatever height is required by the style of the shoe in hand.

Having completed the novel platform sole of the character described, the lastedupper may be pressed into the shell thus provided making ,asnug fit within the wall and being frictionally retained therein accurately and in exactly the Z proper position with respect to the sole; that is, it is impossible for the operator to assemble the lasted shoe with the walied platform sole except in exactly the proper relation. The bottom ofthe shoe may then be completed by uniting the insole and the sole blank, and in this operation an outsole may be conveniently included if desired.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary view in perspective on an enlarged scale of the binding strip,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in section showing how the bindingstrip is attached to the margin of the sole blank,

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the platform sole showing a portion of the binding strip p lled away,

Fig. 4 is a view in elevation shoe, and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4,

The preferred form of binding strip for mak-' of the completed ing the novel platform sole of my invention is well shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It comprises a thin fiat core I0 of stiff but flexible ribbon-like material. This may be formed from several plies of strong, tough paper, or from fibreboard or any other fibrous material having the desired characteristics. In one satisfactory commercial form the core is about in height, 1 3" in thickness, and is made up of kraft paper folded or laminated in three or four plies, in other words, the height of the core is approximately eight times its thick ness, and a core of those dimensions is herein termed a thin core. The core it is enclosed in a flexible cover of thin leather, or plastic or textile material, one face of which has been coated with an adhesive which may be activated by heat or pressure as desired. The binding is supplied to the manufacturer in the form shown in Fig. 1, that is to say, the outer portion H of the cover is adhesively attached to one face of the core and extends beyond it while the inner portion 12 of the cover is adhesively attached to the other face of the core-throughout a portion only of its height and is then folded upwardly so that a portion of the core is exposed which approximates in width the thickness of the sole blank with which it is to be subsequently assembled. It will be seen that the binding thus provided presents one surface which is free of adhesive, while the other face of the binding, as indicated y t ppling in Fig. 1, has a coating of latent In constructing the skeleton platform sole of Fig. 3, a sole blank 15 is prepared which is substantially identical in shape to the insole or the bottom of the lasted upper with which the platform sole is to be used. The exposed portion of the core is then brought progressively into direct engagement with the edge of the sole blank I5, disposed at right angles thereto and in flush relation with the lower face of the blank with the major portion of the core extending upwardly above the top face of the flat sole blank. As this relation of core and blank is established, the lower margin of the outer portion H of the cover is folded inwardly over the bottom face of the sole blank l5 and adhesively attached thereto, and simultaneously the lower margin l3 of the inner portion 12 of the cover is conformed and adhesively secured to the upper face of the sole blank as indicated in Fig. 2. The binding strip as a whole is thus very securely attached to the sole blank and provides a thin upstanding wall which is stiff, somewhat resilient and selfsustaining, and which encloses a sole-shaped area accurately determined by the contour of the sole blank IS.

The completed platform sole is shown in Fig. 3, although in this figure a portion of the bind ing strip in the inside shank of the sole is represented as being pulled away to expose the edge of the sole blank 15 and the inturned flanges i3 and M of the cover. The operation of attaching the binding strip may be conveniently carried out in a continuous manner, starting at about the heel breast line at the inside shank edge of the sole blank, progressing aboutthe contour of the sole blank, and returning to the starting point where either a lapped or a butted joint may be formed so that the wall presents a continuous smooth and unbroken appearance.

The platform sole above described may be incorporated in the finished shoe as suggested in Figs. 4 and 5. In these figures, an upper 16 is represented as being cement lasted to the bottom of an insole ll upon a last [8. As already noted, the space enclosed by the upstanding wall of the platform sole coincides exactly with the contour of the lasted upper Hi. The operator has now only to force the lasted upper into the sole-shaped space enclosed by the wall of the platform sole, and when the operation has proceeded as above outlined, it will be found that the lasted upper fits snugly within the wall of the platform sole so that these parts are temporarily held together by frictional engagement in exactly the desired relation. If desired the insole I! may be adhesively secured to the upper or inner face of the sole blank l5 and the interposed inturned margin 13 of the cover strip. Subsequently an outsole l9 may be laid and incorporated in the shoe bottom in any desired manner. As herein shown, however, the bot tom is completed by withdrawing the last 53 and uniting the insole :1, the sole blank 15, and the outsole 19 by a line of McKay stitching 20 which shows inside the shoe and is concealed in a channel formed in the outer face of the outsole.

The precise manner of incorporating the shell of my invention into the shoe is of secondary importance and it may be cemented, stitched or wrapped in any desired part of the shoe bottom or upper in accordance with the type of shoe in which it is employed.

It will be apparent that by assembling the binding strip with its core l0 directly and continuously engaged with the outer marginal edge of the sole blank, the upstanding wall is gauged accurately to the exact contour of the sole, whereas if the core is located upon the fiat race of the sole blank it is likely to be displaced transversely and may either overhang the edge of the sole or fall inside it with the result that a wrinkle appears in the exposed face of the platform.

While the binding strip has been referred to as providing a thin upstanding wall approximately in height, it will be understood that the binding may be made A" or any desired height in accordance with the style of the shoe in which the platform sole is to be incorporated. As a further advantage of the construction herein disclosed and claimed, it will be noted that the binding strip may be applied to a sole blank of any desired thickness and that variations in the thickness of the blank may be accommodated without change of structure in the binding strip.

The process of making platform soles or shells embodying the binding strip herein disclosed in the subject matter of my co-pending application Ser. No. 206,743 filed January 19, 1951.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A shoe presenting the appearance of a platform sole shoe and having an insole, an upper lasted to the insole, and a skeleton platform, shell comprising a sole-shaped blank having a plane perpendicular edge face with an upstanding peripheral wall of uniform height receiving and snugly fitting the outer surface of the upper while otherwise unattached to it, the wall comprising a thin stiff core disposed at substantially right angles to the flat face of the sole blank directly and continuously engaged with the plane edge face of the blank, disposed flush with the lower face thereof and extending a predetermined and substantial height above its upper face, and a binding strip enclosing the core and adhesively secured to at least one of the flat faces of the sole blank, the said binding strip being the portion of the wall that contacts the surface of the upper and the platform shell constituting a complete preformed article adapted frictionally to receive the lasted upper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 628,339 Lennon July 4, 1899 2,074,579 Fesl Mar. 23, 1937' 2,099,418 Bradley et al Nov. 16, 1937 2,134,259 Moore Oct. 25, 1938' 2,327,322 Slater Aug. 17, 1943 2,380,577 Calderazzo July 31, 1945 2,405,870 Almy Aug. 13, 1946v 2,526,926 Atlas Oct. 24, 1950 2,538,373 Maling Jan. 16, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 839,532 France Jan. 4, 1939 368,846 Italy Mar. 4, 1939 871,560 France Jan. 19, 1942 543,084 Great Britain Feb. 9, 1942 OTHER REFERENCES Amer. Shoemaking (Magazine), Mar. 2'7, 1940, page 53, 

